Context: Ru had been tossing and turning in bed for nearly an hour, refusing to settle down. One minute, it was “I want to sleep next to mumma!” The next, it was “I want papa!” Back and forth he went, keeping both of us on our toes.

Me: (exasperated) Ru, we had enough now, you decide—who should put you to sleep, mummy or papa?
Ru: (without missing a beat, grinning) Mummy and papa!
Me: (speechless!)

A few nights later…
Context: Similar to the night mentioned before, he had been shuffling in the bed, wanting to stay up and refusing to sleep.

Me: Ru (almost begging), please fall asleep, you have hardly napped today plus you woke up so early, you need to catch up on sleep.
Ru: I want ketchup! I want ketchup!
Me: (cracking up!)

After a few more nights…
Context: Once again, he refuses to sleep, and this time I have wised up! (at least I liked to believe that!) I decided to use a trick: I shut my eyes and pretended to sleep next to him.

Ru: (trying to initiate a conversation with me) Mumma, mumma…
Me: (still pretending to sleep)
Ru: (tapping on my hand with his knuckles) Knock! Knock!
Me: (smiling, but still determined, and pretending to sleep)
Ru: (once again, tapping on my hand) Knock! Knock! Open your eyes
Me: (giving up, could not help smiling and ended up opening my eyes) Yes, who is there?
Ru: (laughing, snuggles close) Goodnight mumma!

I believe Ru is at the moment in one of the most wonderful stages of human life where he is tracing this uncharted territory of language with a beautiful mix of curiosity and creativity. As toddlers of his age unconsciously grasp the nuances of language such as conjunctions and venture into wordplays, they reveal truths about the power of language that we adults often overlook, complicate, or take so many years to realise and articulate. Given children’s natural, unfiltered, almost inapprehensive approach to communication, unfazed by social norms or pretense, they bring to light profound insights about language as the building blocks for fostering connection, meaning, and perspectives. It is almost like their small steps toward constructing words and sentences resonate more deeply than any adult’s carefully and consciously constructed argument.

And I mean “conjunctions”, pretty sure most of you last heard or used this word in one of your tedious English Grammar sessions in school. Though seemingly modest linguistic tools, they form the bridges that help us associate and link ourselves to others, link concepts and emotions, and what not! In a child’s developing world of language, the newly acquired power to glue words almost becomes like some art and craft experiment for exploring their relationships with others, to establish, in broad scientific terms, the cause and effect. And then the playful puns, infused with such honesty and imagination, invite us to think more deeply about the very core and function of human language, to build connections or well, even explore connections we might have missed between words, thoughts and everything around us! Knock! Knock! Who’s there? And! And who? And YOU! No, AND you! But who? But me! Or…you? You who?
Got you! Yohoo!